The present invention relates to a socket for electrical parts that temporarily holds an electrical part, such as semiconductor device (called hereunder "integrated circuit package"). The improvement is in the moving mechanism for the slide plate that displaces contact portions of a contact pin that clamps a terminal of the electrical part.
There is a known integrated circuit socket, that detachably holds an integrated circuit package as "electrical part". The known IC package includes a BGA (Ball Grid Array) type in which a number of solder balls as terminals are attached to a lower surface of a rectangular package body.
A plurality of contact pins are arranged in the integrated circuit socket, and each of the contact pins has a pair of elastic pieces having ends on which contact portions are formed. The contact portions thereby clamp the side surface of the solder ball attached to the lower surface of the rectangular package body. The clamping happens when one of the paired elastic pieces is elastically deformed by being pushed by a slide plate which slides in a horizontal direction.
Further, the integrated circuit socket comprises a socket body, and an operation member is disposed to be vertically movable with respect to the socket body. When the operation member is moved downward, the slide plate is displaced by a link mechanism and one of the elastic pieces of the contact pins is elastically deformed to thereby widen a distance between the contact portions. The solder ball is inserted in the space in the contact pins. Thereafter, the slide plate returns to its original position and, hence, the one of the elastic pieces is also returned to its original position before the deformation, thus clamping the solder ball between both the contact portions. An electrical connection is thereby established.
A performance test, such as a burn-in, carried out. The slide plate is then slid in the manner mentioned above, such that the contact portion of one of the elastic pieces is again deformed. The wider distance between the contact portions allows separation from the solder ball. Thereafter, the integrated circuit package is taken out from the integrated circuit socket by an automatic machine. According to the structure mentioned above, the integrated circuit package can be mounted or dismounted using little force. Thus the working efficiency can be improved.
In such a conventional structure however, because the vertical motion of the operation member is converted to the horizontal motion of the slide plate through the link mechanism, it is required to use a plurality of link members. The additional pieces increases the number of parts and makes the entire structure of the integrated circuit socket large in order to provide a space for the link members, each having a relatively long length.